By: Tamara | Last updated November 24, 2020 
When you invest in a new house, you want to know it’s going to feel like home. And even though it is considerably easier to buy an already built house or apartment, you’ll always have more satisfaction when you create everything from zero, to make sure everything will be designed according to your own taste and needs.
Architects are the number one option for most people, because they’re professionals and they can do all the work for you. But there are some bold individuals out there who have the courage and enthusiasm to design their own home, using a home design software.
Commercial home design software has evolved a lot over the years. Nowadays, you can create your home from ground up, including interior, exterior, garden, patio and so on. Every idea you can imagine can become reality with the help of these complex apps.
Home design software can be used to design your house from scratch, to add additional rooms, to renovate homes and so on. There are countless home design programs on the market, each with its particular features and benefits. But all of them have in common some basic tools: object libraries that include various objects you can fill your house with: appliances, furniture, home entertainment centers, outdoor furniture, vegetation for your garden (flowers, trees, etc.), floor plans, 3D rendering capabilities and more.
What to look for in a home design software
There are some general guidelines you should follow when looking for the best home design software for you:
- Think about how you’re going to use the software; what device are you going to use, what system requirements does the program have; also, some people prefer to use apps that are cloud-based; that means that you’ll do all your designing on the web, on a server and you will need a connection to the internet as well;
- Pay attention to the interface; how user-friendly is the program or how user-friendly do you need it to be? Can you cope with a more challenging design software that has a steep learning curve or you need a basic program that is easy to master? The more complex the software, the harder it will be to learn it; it is important for the software to include comprehensive guides and video tutorials to help you get started
- Pay attention to the features included; you want to have enough objects in your libraries (there are programs that offer only dozens and apps that offer thousands); a landscaping mode is also important, so that you can design the surrounding area around your house (you can see how a swimming pool would look like and where it would best go, you can manipulate terrain, create ponds and so on)
- Choose a software that includes a plan tracing feature; This tool allows you to upload a plan, blueprint or a sketch and trace your new home plan with as many edits as you’d like on it. This is especially useful if you’re doing a home renovation, because you won’t have to redraw the entire plan for your house, you’ll just trace it and add or remove what you wish
DreamPlan Home Design Software Overview
DreamPlan was developed by NCH software and it is a home design software that works on both Windows and macOS.
As far as system requirements go, DreamPlan is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. As for macOS, the software is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 and newer.
DreamPlan requires the 64-bit version Windows and 64 MB video card with Pixel Shader 2.0 support.
What is the price of DreamPlan?
DreamPlan comes in two versions: a free version and a paid one. Just like with any product, the free version is mostly good for testing the interface of the software and get you started. But it comes with limitations in terms of features.
If, however, you choose to purchase a license for the software, you can opt for either DreamPlan Home Design Software Home or DreamPlan Home Design Software Plus.
Normally, DreamPlan Home Design Software Home is priced at $35 and DreamPlan Home Design Software Plus is priced at $40. But NCH currently has a generous discount so the Home version can be purchased for $16.97 and the Plus version for $19.99.
For this price, DreamPlan Home Design Software Home comes with a license limited for personal use at home. DreamPlan Home Design Software Plus comes with an unlimited license for a user anywhere.
You can pay with credit cards (MasterCard, Visa) or via PayPal.
What features are included with DreamPlan?
DreamPlan is not the most complex home design software out there. It is in fact quite basic and minimalist in features, but its biggest selling point is its user-friendliness, which makes every project a pleasure to work on.
Image source: https://www.nchsoftware.com/
There are several things you can do with DreamPlan:
- Design your home and floor plan
- Landscape and garden design
- Design the interior and rooms
- Remodel, make additions and redesign
DreamPlan lets you switch between several modes: 2D, 3D, blueprint. There is a trace mode included as well, which helps you import existing floor plans.
As far as rooms and the interior of your home go, you can choose between various furniture ideas, appliances, decorations, bathroom and kitchen designs and so on.
Image source: https://www.nchsoftware.com/
Thanks to the landscape design feature you can reshape the terrain, design gardens, backyards, plant trees and more.
Image source: https://www.nchsoftware.com/
Users who want to use DreamPlan for redesigning, additions and remodeling can create walls, decks, roofs, modify existing rooms, import images for customized textures for wallpapers, floors, etc. You can use the roof wizard to create roofs and make adjustments to different areas of the roof.
There are dozens of objects to choose from, which is not a lot, but you’re guaranteed to find combinations that you’ll like among them. There are around 65 interior, exterior and landscaping items, but if you want more items, you can download expansion packages from their website, for free. What you can’t do though is import objects from third-parties.
In conclusion, DreamPlan is a simple but good home design program. It is easy to use, it comes in a free version as well and it is best for users who are just getting started with home design software.
